Virus hitches ride on Carnival cruise ship

Almost 200 fall ill with a bug similar to one that has affected about 1,000 cruise passengers.

©Associated Press
December 3, 2002

MIAMI -- A Carnival cruise ship returned from a three-day sail Monday carrying 194 people sickened by a gastrointestinal virus, with symptoms similar to those plaguing other cruise liners.

Vomiting and diarrhea afflicted 190 passengers and four crew members on the Fascination. It has not been confirmed that they had a Norwalk-like virus, said Tim Gallagher, a Carnival Corp. spokesman.

That virus has affected more than 1,000 people on other cruise ships in recent months, including Holland America's Amsterdam and Disney's Magic. Those companies have canceled one sailing each to thoroughly disinfect the ships.

The 855-foot Fascination, carrying 2,428 passengers and more than 900 crew members, returned to the Port of Miami shortly before 5 a.m. Monday after a three-day voyage to the Bahamas.

"I couldn't wait to get my family off," Valerie Cone told WSVN-TV as she left the port in her car. "My son is so sick he's back there with a barf bag."

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention oversaw a quick cleaning of the ship, which departed on a four-day cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico, about 7 p.m. Monday, with new passengers.

Passengers scheduled for the voyage were offered the option of canceling their reservation to reschedule, and about 85 accepted the offer, said Carnival Cruise Lines president Bob Dickinson.

Gallagher said passengers on the cruise just ended would not receive refunds or compensation because most of the illnesses appeared late Sunday.

Results of laboratory tests on samples from the Fascination and its passengers are expected within five days, said Bernadette Burden, a CDC spokeswoman.

Norwalk-like virus is one of a number of common illnesses that can cause diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting for 24 to 48 hours. It is spread through food, water and close contact with infected people or things they have touched.

It is a seasonal illness that peaks in the colder months, said Dr. Steven Wiersma, Florida's state epidemiologist.

"This is not just a cruise ship issue," he said, noting similar outbreaks in nursing homes and on college campuses.

The Amsterdam, which was held at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale for 10 days to be thoroughly decontaminated after about 500 people fell ill on its last four trips, departed on a 10-day Caribbean cruise Sunday with 1,261 passengers aboard.

"We are very confident that we have broken the cycle," said Rose Abello, a Holland America spokeswoman. "Can we guarantee that nobody will ever get sick? Absolutely not."

Holland America Line Inc. is owned by Carnival Corp.

Passengers on other Holland America ships, the Ryndam and Statendam, have also contracted the Norwalk-like virus on recent sails.

CDC officials have said there is no evidence that the cruise outbreaks are the work of terrorists.

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